Judge orders funeral for girl whose body remains at morgue

MILWAUKEE - A judge has ordered a father to arrange a funeral for his 14-year-old daughter, whose body has languished in the Milwaukee County morgue for two months amid a dispute between her parents.

Amina Krouser's mother, Azlyza Ababneh, is charged with abusing and neglecting her daughter, resulting in the girl's death. Ababneh is Muslim and her attorney says that for religious reasons, Ababneh objects to the father's plans to cremate Amina's body and have the ashes sent to his home in San Antonio.

Because the mother is not charged with homicide, she retains the right to determine how her daughter's remains should be handled.

Michael Krouser asked for exclusive custody of his daughter's remains. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that although the judge called Krouser's behavior as a father "atrocious," he said could not allow the girl's body to remain at the morgue.